Michigan is home to one of the world's rarest birds...the
Kirtland's warbler. This small, energetic bird was one of the
first to be listed as endangered after the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 was passed by Congress. One reason this bird is
endangered is the extremely limited area in which it nests--young
jack pine forests growing on a special type of sandy soil in
northern lower Michigan. Most of these nesting areas are in
Crawford, Oscoda, and Ogemaw counties. The U.S Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S Forest Service, Michigan Department of Natural
Resources, and Michigan Audubon Society are working together to
save this endangered bird from extinction.
Free guided tours to Kirtland's warbler nesting areas depart from
the US Forest Service Office in Mio, Michigan and from the
Holiday Inn in Grayling, Michigan.
[Note: Crawford, Oscoda, and Ogemaw counties are in north-central
lower Michigan. BMB]
from the USDA Forest Service Kirtland's Warbler web page
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/kirtland.htm
-----
See information from Glenn Palmgren at the bottom regarding
looking for Kirtland's Warbler on your own.
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The drive from Ann Arbor to Mio is about 3 hr 30 min. Take U.S. 23 to
Flint. Continue north on I-75. You'll go past Saginaw, Bay City,
Pinconning, Standish, and Sterling. A few miles past the turnoff to
Sterling you'll come to M-33. Get off there and take M-33 straight
north to Mio (35 miles). The total drive from Ann Arbor is 176 miles.
BMB
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Here is a list of motels in Mio--quite a few for a town of
population 1,900. Thanks to Dea Armstrong for providing this
compilation.
AuSable Valley Inn, 470 S Mt Tom Rd, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-1737
Four Seasons Motel, 110 Nolan St, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-6400
Holiday Motor In, 11 N Mount Tom Rd, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-3743
McKinley Corner Inn, 4680 McKinley Rd, Mio, MI 48647, 517-848-7255
Mio Motel, 415 N Morenci Ave, Mio, MI 48647, 989-826-3248
Mio Pine Acres Campground, 1215 W 8th St, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-5590
Mio Song Bird Motel, 320 S Morenci Ave, Mio, MI 48647, 989-826-5547
North Star Resort, 1330 S Mount Tom Rd, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-3278
Northern View Motel, 75 E Cherry Creek Rd, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-3830
Pinewood Motel, 142 N M 33, Mio, MI 48647, 517-826-3704
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The following is from Alan Bean's web page at
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~abean/birding/ (as of 5-20-02).
See Alan's web page for a number of useful links.
Birding in Crawford County, Michigan [The Kirtland's Warbler]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the Grayling and Crawford County Region!
If you're thinking about visiting and birding in northern lower
Michigan in the near future, then Grayling and the Crawford
County area is the place to go! I hope to highlight some of the
more interesting and unique birding opportunities available here,
and if you're willing, I'll tell you about some of my own
adventures and notes. This site is rather small, but given time
it will grow! Stick around, I'm sure you will find something to
enjoy! And if you are interested in more birding sites, then be
sure to check out the bird-related Web Ring links at the bottom
of this page.
Visit Northern Michigan Birding
Be sure to visit Northern Michigan Birding
(http://www.northbirding.com), Keith Saylor's wonderful birding
site dedicated to birders in northern and central Michigan.
There, you will find an exclusive message board where you can
read and post everything related to birds and habitats specific
to this part of Michigan. Then, once you're finished checking the
message board, click on over to the NMB Bird Identification
Training Center to quiz yourself on everything from shorebirds to
warblers. Go to the NMB Registry so that you can register your
name and e-mail address to receive the latest NMB news and
updates. Keith's site is excellent and a great resource for
anyone interested in finding birds in northern Michigan!
A Celebration of Nature!
On Saturday, May 22, the 1999 Kirtland's Warbler Festival is
coming to the campus of Kirtland Community Collge! Located 8
miles north of St. Helen at 10775 N. St. Helen Road in Roscommon
County, visitors will be treated to guests such as wildlife
photographer Carl R. Sams II and Michael Glenn Monroe, the 1997
Michigan Duck Stamp winner. The festival celebrates the return of
the Kirtland's warbler from the Bahamas to the its nesting site
here in the Jack Pine Country of northern Michigan! Admission is
free and includes wildlife presentations, tours, photograph
exhibits, children's activities, a juried fine arts exhibit, and
more! Fun for the whole family! For more info, call (517) 275-
5121, extension 347.
Source: The Jack-Pine Warbler, volume 76, number 2, p. 4. Edited
by David Worthington, published by the Michigan Audubon Society.
Free Guided Tours to Kirtland's Warbler Nesting Areas
From mid-May to early July, you can take a free guided tour of
the Kirtlands' warbler nesting area located either in Grayling or
Mio. Tours to the nesting areas depart from the Grayling Holiday
Inn and the U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Office in Mio and
may not be offered every day of the week.
Kirtland's Warblers at a Record High!
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources,
Michigan's 1998 population of the endangered Kirtland's warbler
is the highest recorded since the first census was done in 1951.
Biologists, volunteers, and researchers counted 805 singing males
during the official 1998 census period completed in mid-June,
compared to 733 in 1997 and to the previous high of 766 in 1995.
Low numbers were counted in 1987 and 1974, when only 167 singing
males were found.
The census was started in 1951, repeated in 1961, and has been
done annually since 1971. Wildlife bilogists and foresters from
state and federal agencies conduct a combination of clearcutting,
burning, seeding, and replanting to mimic the effects of wildfire
in regenerating young Jack Pine stands, the warbler's breeding
habitat. "The number of Kirtland's warblers counted in areas
specifically planted for warbler nesting habitat has continued to
increase over the past several years; planted areas had over 76
percent of the population this year," said Department of Natural
Resources wildlife biologist Jerry Weinrich of the Roscommon
Lower Peninsula Field Headquarters. "Additional new habitat will
become available each year for the next several years, so there
is reason to be optimistic that the warblers will continue to
increase over the next few years."
Source: Ornithological Newsletter, August 1998, edited by Cheryl
L. Trine, published by the American Ornithologists' Union.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Glenn R. Palmgren"
To: "BIRDCHAT" ,
"UM Birders" ,
Subject: The Kirtland's Warbler FAQ
Date sent: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 14:38:53 -0400
Due to recent postings on various birding email groups, I think
it is the time of year again to answer some common questions
about Kirtland's Warbler.
Kirtland's Warbler arrives on its breeding grounds in northern
Lower Michigan in mid-May (usually between May 15 and 20). The
best way to see it is on the guided tours given by either the US
Forest Service out of Mio or the US Fish & Wildlife Service out
of Grayling. The Mio tours for 1999 will run from May 15 through
July 2 on Wednesday - Sunday mornings at 7am (no tours on Mondays
or Tuesdays). The tours leave from the Mio Forest Service Ranger
Station (on M-33 just south of the AuSable River), and cost $5.00
per person. The Grayling tours for 1999 (free of charge) will
start daily at 7am from May 15 through July 4 at the Holiday Inn
in downtown Grayling. After late June or early July, it becomes
much more difficult to find KWs because they don't sing nearly as
much as earlier in the year. A web page has been set up by the
Forest Service with general information about Kirtland's warbler
conservation and specific information about their tours:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/kirtland.htm
[above URL updated and current, 5-29-2002 // BMB]
There are many places along roadsides where the warblers can be
heard and seen. Look for patchy jack pine stands with trees 8-16
feet tall in the vicinity of Mio or Grayling. You can stop on
the roads (if there's no traffic, of course) but it is illegal to
enter the breeding areas or even walk off the roadsides in those
areas; there are signs posted on the roadsides to remind you.
From past experience working in these forests, I would say that
in spring in appropriate habitat you are almost guaranteed seeing
or hearing Kirtland's warbler, clay-colored, vesper, Lincoln's,
song, field, chipping, and other sparrows, brown thrasher, hermit
thrush, nashville & yellow-rumped warblers, american crow, black-
capped chickadee, brown-headed cowbird, flicker, downy
woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch, and blue jay. Other good
possibilities (but a little less common) include upland
sandpiper, both cuckoos, common nighthawk, and other warblers in
migration. Black-backed woodpeckers can sometimes be found in
very recent burns, but usually abandon an area 1-2 years after a
burn. It may be possible to find these birds by yourself from
the roadsides if you spend a lot of time driving around, but it
is much easier if you go on the tours.
Good luck!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
- Glenn Palmgren School of Natural
Resources Graduate Student - Forest Ecology & Environment
palmgren@umich.edu University of Michigan
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~palmgren/ Ann Arbor, MI 48109
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Pine Wildlife Viewing Tours
http://theenchantedforest.com/Wildlife_Viewing/Jack_Pine_Wildlife_Viewing_Tou/jack_pine_wildlife_viewing_tou.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
Karen Markey - motels and tours
Date sent: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 07:27:07 -0400
To: birders@umich.edu
From: Karen Markey
Subject: [birders] Kirtland Warbler tour protocol at Mio, Michigan
I've taken the Kirtland's tour in Mio several times over the years.
This is the second year I'll dedicate a whole week at Mio as a
Kirtland's Warbler census volunteer.
For the Mio tour, I usuallly drive to Mio in the late afternoon. It
is a guaranteed 3-hour drive from my home on the northeast side of
Ann Arbor to Mio. I stay at the Mio Motel, phone 989-826-3248. One
night's stay is usually between $50 and $60. It is a very nice motel,
clean, small refrigerator, microwave, leather couch even!, cable
television with The Weather Channel and more, etc. A medium-sized
Glenn's grocery store is adjacent the Mio Motel in case you need food
or supplies. A very nice diner is right across the street in case you
need a meal; I believe the diner opens at 6:30 am which may not give
you enough time to meet your 7 am tour. (Other motels are the Holiday
Motor Inn, 989-826-3743, and the AuSable Valley Motel, 989-826-1737,
which is relatively new and has a pool.)
The U.S. Forest Service Station is directly across the street from
the Mio Motel. You go to the Station at 7 am, get a short verbal
description from a ranger and watch a film about the warbler and the
Forest Service's efforts to increase and maintain its numbers and
save its habitat. Then you get into your own car and follow the
ranger to a place where a male Kirtland's Warbler is singing. You
listen and look and finally see the bird (most of the time). The tour
should be over no later than 10 am, usually earlier.
The benefit of taking the tour is that the guide knows where male
Kirtlands are singing and will let you walk into the forest. If you
are alone, you CANNOT walk into the forest on your own. It is posted
and there are penalties for trespassing on National Forest posted
property. If you are on your own, you must park on the road and
struggle to see the birds on your own.
If you don't see a bird at the 7 am Mio tour, some folks drive to
Grayling for the late-morning tour there. I've not taken the Grayling
tour but it is a possibility in the event that your Mio tour is
unsatisfactory.
The earlier in the season that you take a Kirtland's tour (late May,
very early June), the more likely you are to get an experienced U.S.
Forest Service ranger as a guide instead of a brand new, usually very
young, summer intern who may or may not know the bird, its song, or
how to handle a group of people. If you go on a weekday tour, the
more likely you are to join a small, manageable group of birders. One
year, I was the ONLY person on the tour. The ranger and I endured an
incredible thunderstorm and my reward was five stunning singing
Kirtland Warblers viewed through the ranger's scope. What a treat!
Last year as a census volunteer, I heard about 110 Kirtlands, saw
about 11. Those are pretty amazing numbers when you realize that the
2003 census counted about 1,100 singing male Kirtlands last year.
Hearing 5% of a species is an amazing feat (assuming one male for
every female).
--
Karen Markey
Professor
School of Information, 304 West Hall, 550 E. Univ. Ave.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: 1-734-763-3581; Fax: 1-734-764-2475
Email: ylime@umich.edu
Web site: http://www.si.umich.edu/~ylime/index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen Markey - more on tours
I cut and pasted the information below from the "Huron-Manistee
National Forests" web page on Kirtland's Warbler. Check this web
page for more information
(http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/kirtland.htm):
Mio:
Tours offered by the US Forest Service depart from the Mio Ranger
Station in Mio. Tours start on May 15 and the last tour for the year
will be conducted on July 2. The tours are conducted daily during
this period; tours are not offered on Memorial Day, May 31. Tours
start promptly at 7:00 am each day. The Forest Service tour costs
$5.00 per person under the Recreation Fee Demonstration
Program.Eighty percent of these funds stay on the Forest to help
cover the cost associated with the tours.
Grayling:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will conduct guided tours from May
15 through July 4, 2004 departing from the Holiday Inn in Grayling,
Michigan.The tours are offered daily at 7:00 a.m. and at 11:00 a.m.
and are free of charge.
PS. By the second week in June, the bugs can be rather bothersome. Be
prepared with sprays, hats, long sleeves, etc.
--
Karen Markey
Professor
School of Information, 304 West Hall, 550 E. Univ. Ave.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: 1-734-763-3581; Fax: 1-734-764-2475
Email: ylime@umich.edu
Web site: http://www.si.umich.edu/~ylime/index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
From: billmurphy8@home.com
To: "Bruce M. Bowman"
Subject: Re: question about Mio Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001
20:30:57 -0500
Bruce,
>A friend asked me where to stay in Mio. All they need is cheap
and clean. Mio Motel? Songbird Motel? AuSable Inn?<
I've enjoyed staying at both the Mio Motel and the Four Seasons Motel.
The Mio Motel is fancier and closer to McDonald's (which opens at 6:00
a.m..) and to Kristi's Bakery across the street (good bagels / muffins
and many varieties of coffee, also opens early).
I don't know the rates at the Mio Motel.
Three of us split a room at the Four Seasons Motel two weeks ago and it
came to $20/night per person. Two bedrooms and a bed in the
combination kitchen/living room. Not fancy but perhaps relatively
inexpensive. It's about a mile west of the Mio/McDonald's section of
Mio.
I think that if I lived in Michigan I'd be up that way most weekends.
All the best,
--Bill
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Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 00:02:57 -0400
From: Glenn R. Palmgren
To: Deaver Daves Armstrong
Subject: RE: Finally, I am going to Mio...
Hi Dea,
[...]
By the way, the restaurant next to the USFS office has very good
food. If I remember correctly, I think it's called the AuSable
River Restaurant. Most of the other restaurants in town are also
good, especially the pizza place across from the A&W. There is
also a new McDonalds that wasn't there when I lived there.
Best of luck. If you see Phil Huber (Wildlife biologist in the
USFS Mio office) while you're up there, tell him I said hi.
Good birding!
Glenn
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Date sent: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 10:43:46 -0400
Subject: FW: Kirtland's Warbler population highest ever recorded
From: Crystal Keller
To: birders@umich.edu
Send reply to: Crystal Keller
From:
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001
To: DNRWIRE@listserv.state.mi.us
Subject: KIRTLAND'S WARBLERS POPULATION HIGHEST EVER RECORDED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 27 JUNE 01
CONTACTS: Jerry Weinrich, 517-275-5151
Pat Lederle, 517-373-1263
KIRTLAND'S WARBLERS POPULATION HIGHEST EVER RECORDED
LANSING--The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service today announced
Michigan's 2001 Kirtland's warbler count recorded 1,085 singing
males, the highest count since the first census was taken in
1951.
The 2001 count represents an increase of nearly 200 singing males
over last year's count of 891. State and federal officials called
the count a significant milestone toward the recovery of this
federally-endangered species.
"This is a tremendous achievement," stated Mike Decapita, USFWS
biologist. "It wasn't that long ago in 1987 that we had a low
population count of only 167 singing males." The lowest numbers
were counted in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 singing males were
found.
The census has been performed annually since 1971. The birds are
counted by biologists, researchers and volunteers on state,
federal and private lands by listening for their songs. The songs
can be heard more than one-quarter mile away, providing an
accurate method to census the birds with minimum disturbance.
Since only males sing, the minimum breeding population (males &
females) is calculated as twice the count of singing males.
"The Kirtland's warbler management program represents the best of
scientific wildlife management at work," said Pat Lederle,
Endangered Species Program Coordinator for the DNR. "The
cooperation among DNR biologists and foresters, U.S. Forest
Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Military
Affairs in managing the jack pine barrens for warblers' nesting
habitat is outstanding."
In addition to providing warbler habitat and forest products, the
jack pine system provides valuable habitat for a variety of plant
species, songbirds and game animals. Maintaining the jack pine
barrens is essential because Kirtland's warbler numbers are
directly related to the amount of available nesting habitat. The
Kirtland's warbler nests have been found only in jack pine stands
located in northern Michigan. The warbler is a ground nester and
selects stands of trees about 4 to 20 years old with live
branches that extend to the ground. Historically, these stands
of young jack pine were created by natural wildfires that
frequently swept through northern Michigan. Modern fire
suppression programs altered this natural process, reducing
Kirtland's warbler habitat.
To mimic the affects of wildfire, state and federal wildlife
biologists and foresters now conduct a combination of
clearcutting, burning, seeding and replanting on about 150,000
acres. Only through continuation of these activities can the
bird's survival into the future be ensured. At least 1,500 acres
of jack pine trees were seeded on state and federal lands this
spring, and 1,000 additional acres will be planted this fall.
These new plantations will provide habitat for warblers in six to
10 years.
The number of singing males found in 9 northern Lower Peninsula
counties were: Alcona 132, Clare 11, Crawford 266, Iosco 50,
Kalkaska 20, Ogemaw 385, Oscoda 190, Otsego 9, and Roscommon 14.
A total of 8 singing males were found in three Upper Peninsula
counties: Delta 4, Marquette 2 and Schoolcraft 2. Females were
observed with the males, indicating continuing nesting activity
in the Upper Peninsula. The production of young has been
confirmed in the Upper Peninsula each year since 1996. No
singing males have been reported this year in Wisconsin or
Ontario. For more information on the Kirtland's warbler, contact
the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Bureau,
Natural Heritage Program, Box 30180, Lansing, MI 48909-7680.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Date sent: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 17:08:26 -0500
From: Steve Santner
To: birders@umich.edu
Subject: Re: birding in michigan
The easiest way is to go on one of the tours. The tour
guides know which males are most cooperative in sitting up so you
can get a look at it. There are two different tours. One leaves
daily from the Holiday Inn in Grayling at 7:00 and 11:00 AM.
Birds are on territory from mid/late May through late June (and
probably July also but the level of singing falls rapidly after
about June 25th). This tour is free. The other starts from the
US Forest Service office in Mio. They go daily from May 15 to
July 1 (except Memorial Day - May 28). These tours cost
$5.00/person. If you don't want to go on the tours you may be
able to find singing males in Oscoda or Crawford Counties but
most of their habitat is managed and you can't enter into these
Jack Pine areas. You also cannot use tapes to draw them in. In
fact, there are large fines for doing anything to "disturb" these
birds.
Steve Santner